The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-05-07
PRETTY SHOP GIRLS.
An Interesting sight on 10 wv DrHa"-
way When they are Out In Force.

wny When they are Out In Force.
A New York correspondent of 4He
Indianapolis News writes: 1t is a
pleasure to walk up Broadway from
Chambers TO Blocker street any bright
afternoon from $3.50 to to 6 O'Clock.
Nearly every one of the big buildings
within those limits has factories one very
floor, where hundreds and thousands
Of girls are employed in making cloth
ing, underware, necktles, cloaks, fancy
boxes and other articles of luxury and
necessity. Pretty much all of them are
between the ages of IA and 20. BY the
time they are 20 they are either mar
ried or swept away, no one knows
where. Most of these factories close
at $50 and the girls hurry on their
wraps and start for home. and great
number of them live in Brooklyn and
New jersey, where board and lodging
is much cheaper than in New York,
and so they walk down Broadway to
the ferries. They are as handsome a
set of girls rs can be found anywhere.
Like nearly all American women, they
have the knack of dressing becomingly,
and their trim and shapely figures are
shown of to good advantage. They do
not look disconnected, if bright and
cheerful faces are any criterion, and they
chatter merrily as they pass along
two or three at time. They have the
independent bearing of girls who know
they earn their own living and are not
dependent on any man for support
Some of the pretticst are accom-
panied by young men-perhaps some
of the clerks who have taken 4
fancy to them. Nearly all of them
have been pupils in the public
schools. They read the newspapers
and talk cleverly. A vast amount of
rot is printed about them. but in point
of fact they are as jolly and contented
a lot of young women as can be found
elsewhere in the world. There is
great cutlery on the part of theatrical,
short-haired and atmospheric philan-
thropists, at times, because factory and
shop girls do not give up their employ
ment and seek homes rs servants in up
town families The girl knows what
she is about. The bedraggled maid of
all work, nagged by silky mistress,
abused by horde of snappy children,
and saddled with thousand cares, has
one night out week, when she has
an opportunity to be courted by the
coachman or the hostler. The work
ing girl is her own mistress absolutely
from the time she leaves the factory at
6 o'clock in the evening until she re-
turns at the following morning. Her
independence is abolute, and during
her hours of freedom she is as much a
lady as the wife of the President. She
visits her friends and receives the calls
of men who are by no means to be de-
spised in the matrimonial market A
great and welcome change has come
over public opinion respecting women
who have the courage, faith and energy
to go out in the world and make them
selves the arbiters of their own futures
instead of moping at home, a burden
TO their friends and trial to their rel
atives. That workingwomen command
in many instances the highest respect
cannot be denied by any man who has
an intimate knowledge of New York
life. There are ladies of high culture.
finished accomplishments and many
graccs of mind and person in the board
ing-houses of New York who are the
popular leaders Of lille social circles
despite the fact that they are employed
during the day. There are grades Of
labor, and women have learned to look
the world in the face and fight for the
best fields.